If the St. Augustine girls basketball team was surprised by Leon on Thursday in the Class 6A regional quarterfinals it was a feeling that didn’t last past the second quarter.

After Tori Wilkerson scored the opening basket of the third to pull the Lions within one at 29-28, the Yellow Jackets scored 17 of the next 21 points before rolling to a commanding 64-42 victory at home.

“They came together after the half,” St. Augustine coach John Algreen said. “That’s how it’s going to have to be (in the playoffs). They played for each other and they kept their composure throughout a really tough game.”

Algreen said St. Augustine (24-4) didn’t really talk about making adjustments during the break, despite allowing Leon (12-13) to close the second quarter on a 10-2 run and cut the gap to 29-26.

Six of those points came from the free throw line, as Leon was able to slice its way through the interior of St. Augustine’s defense.

“We talked about just packing the middle and trying to stop their penetration,” Algreen said. “Our defense did such a better job in the second half as a team.”

It’s easy sometimes to forget how young the Yellow Jackets really are. Outside of seniors Jasmine Kearse, Tatyana Lewis and Briana Maxwell, there’s only two upperclassmen on St. Augustine’s entire roster.

Luckily, the group may be one of the best in school history.

Against Leon, Maxwell and Kearse scored 18 of the Yellow Jackets’ 29 points in the first two quarters, steadying St. Augustine long enough for the younger players to settle in and help turn a close game into a rout.

Kearse led all scorers with 23 points, while Maxwell followed with 11.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Algreen said. “We’re still figuring it out a lot of times and it’s great to watch when some of the younger players step up like they did tonight. Everybody cheers for each other on this team. We’re all teammates when it comes down to it.”

Freshman Courtney Cox played some huge minutes for St. Augustine as some of the more experienced front-court players dealt with foul trouble. She scored nine points. Tiausha Oxendine, a sophomore, was next with seven and Leandra Franklin chipped in with six.

St. Augustine will now host Oakleaf on Tuesday in the regional semifinals.

Thursday’s win didn’t come without its share of bizarre moments.

Leon chose to double team Kearse late in the game in the fourth quarter, electing to play three-on-four on the other side. St. Augustine’s Allison Abbott converted an easy wide-open layup on the possession.

Leon also committed a series of intentional fouls that allowed the score to balloon the way it did down the stretch.

Really, despite the odd turn of events, Leon was doomed by its inability to hit outside shots as the game wore on. Once St. Augustine found a way to keep Wilkerson off the free throw line, Leon’s offense evaporated.

The Lions scored only six points in the third quarter and 18 in the second half.

Wilkerson had 16 points to pace Leon, including its lone 3-pointer on the night.

Sophomore guard Leandra Franklin, undoubtedly the game’s smallest player on the court, said Thursday’s contest was a good test moving forward, especially when it comes to playing physical teams in the playoffs.

“I think if anything it will push us to go harder,” she said.

Franklin converted a crowd pleasing three-point play early in the fourth quarter when she banked in a layup while sliding into the padding behind the basket. The shot elicited the loudest response from the crowd all night and put St. Augustine up 51-33 and well on its way to a win.

“I’m used to it by now,” Franklin said. “After last year, I’m used to it. I just have to get back up and do it again.”